Iùdhais grammar (1)
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short grammar of Iùdhais
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 14 Mar 2024, 13:48.
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1. Alban Hebrew
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Seeking to build greater commercial connections and trade links with mainland Europe in the late 11th century, King Ædmund the wise of Ængland began inviting Jewish merchants into the country. A significant number began to arrive, fleeing persecution during the First Crusade in 1096, and building communities in Lunden, Wintencheaster, Oxneford and Norwich. With expulsion orders in France and Germany in the 12th and 13th century, the size of the community increased further, as the population was relatively tolerant in comparison to much of Western Europe. Thus, by the end of the 12th century, there was a population of around 70,000 Jews in England, spread throughout the country but concentrated in the larger cities. They quickly picked up the language, and thus began the early phases of a distinct Iùdhais language.
Initially, the population of Jews in Alba was relatively small, although there are records of at least one synagogue in Dùn Èideann by 1100 indicating there was at least some presence in the country. By 1150, the population began to increase with the Alban invasions of the north of Northymber, subsuming the not-insignificant population of Caisteal-nuadh, but the entire population of Alba was still less than 10,000 by the end of the 12th century.
However, this would change in the 13th century, with increasing antisemitic stereotypes entering Ængland from continental Europe. There were blood libel accusations in Norwich and Oxneford, leading to pogroms and significant violence. This prompted further migration of Jews out of Ængland northwards. The situation worsened for the Jews of England in 1239, with the acession of King Ulfgar the pious to the throne. Under the influence of his Austrian Wife, they began to promote and propagate these stereotypes, with the famous disputation of Wintencheaster in 1245 and burnings of the Talmud in 1250. This culminated in the expulsion order of 1257, whereby all the Jews of England were ordered to leave, with three months for the sale of their personal property. Immovable property, such as houses, fields, and barns were confiscated and given to the clergy. The vast majority of this population ended up moving to Alba, where they joined the established Jewish communities in the region, bringing their Anglo-Jewish culture and language with them.
With this movement, the Iùdhais language began to diverge from Ænglisc due to its physical separation from other Ænglisc speakers in the Gaelic-speaking Alba. Thus, the Iùdhais language has significant influence from both Gaelic, Norse, German, French, Hebrew and Aramaic, making the origins and lexical makeup of the language extremely complicated.
The first recorded written records of the language come from the mid 12th century, from a note in a siddur in Eorfic: גֹדַּא בְּרָכֿוֹת הֶים זִאן דָֿתֹֿא כֵּפְּתְֿ הָלִיגֿ תֹֿנֶא שַׁבָּתֿ-תֲּיגֿ (gōda brāhōþ heom zīen ðāþa cēpþ hāliġ þone sċabbāþ-tæiġ) - "glad blessings be upon those that keep holy the Sabbath day". This written record is suggestive of relatively little divergence between Ænglisc and Iùdhais at this point in time, although some phonological changes seem to have occured, with voicing in "zīen" and devoicing in "tæiġ". Another thing to note is an extremely underdeveloped orthography, with Nikkudot used to indicate vowels rather than mater lectiones as in Modern Iùdhais. A more alphabetical system seems to have begun to be developped in later centuries, although there was significant variation in representing sounds such as /t̪ʰ/ and /kʰ/ up to the late 19th century.
Iùdhais shares many typological similarities with other Germanic languages, although with some distinct features of its own:
- V2 word order, with defaut SVO as a basic order
- 4 distinct grammatical cases
- 2-3 grammatical genders, with the neuter merging with the masculine in some dialects
- 2-3 grammatical numbers, with the exact status of the dual number as its own distinct number being disputable, although this will be discussed further in the section on number
- definite articles only
- uniquely amongst germanic languages, and a feature borrowed from Gaelic, the language has conjugated prepositions
- prepositional constructions for possession
- strong and weak verbal paradigm
The Iùdhais language is written in a modified version of the Hebrew alephbet. It is largely written alphabetically, but words of hebrew origin are written in their original form, meaning the vowels are not written out (although certain non-standard orthographical practices avoid this, and spell all words out alphabetically). The pronunciation of these words must thus be memorised, making the orthography relatively complex. The letters of the alphabet and their pronunciations are as follows:
א | אָ | אַ | אֹ | אֹע | ב |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
שטילער אַלף | קמץ אַלף | פּתּח אַלף | הוֹלם אַלף | הוֹלם אַלף עין | ביתֿ |
ˈʃt̪ʰiləɾ ˈaləf | kʰaːməs̪ ˈaləf | ˈpʰaʰt̪əx ˈaləf | ˈhoːləm ˈaləf | ˈhoːləm ˈaləf ain | peːs̪ |
/∅/ | /aː/ | /a/ | /o/ /ɔ/ | /ɯː/ | /b/ |
בֿ | ג | גֿ | ד | דֿ | ה |
בֿיתֿ | גימל | גֿימל | דלתֿ | דֿלתֿ | הא |
veːs̪ | ˈkiml̩ | ˈɣiml̩ | ˈt̪aləs̪ | ˈɣaləs̪ | heː |
/v/ | /k/ | /ɣ/ | /t̪/ | /ɣ/ | /h/ |
ו | ו | וֹ | וּ | וֹא | וי |
האַרטע ואו | ואו | הוֹלם ואו | שׁוּרוק | הוֹלם ואו אַלף | ואו יודֿ |
ˈhaɾt̪ʰə wɔː | wɔː | ˈhoːləm wɔː | ˈʃuːɾəʰk | ˈhoːləm wɔː ˈaləf | wɔː juɣ |
/w/ | /u/ | /oː/ | /uː/ | /ɔː/ | /ɯ/ |
וֹי | װ | װֿ | ז | ח | ט |
הוֹלם ואו יודֿ | צװעין ואוים | צװעין ואוים רפֿי | זין | חיתֿ | טיתֿ |
ˈhoːləm wɔː juɣ | s̪wɛːn ˈwɔːwəm | s̪wɛːn ˈwɔːwəm ɾaːfə | zajən | xeːs̪ | t̪ʰeːs̪ |
/ɤ/ | w | /ʍ/ | /z/ | /x/ | /t̪ʰ/ |
י | י | יּ | ײ | ײַ | כּ |
האַרטע יודֿ | יודֿ | מפּיק יודֿ | צװאָ יודֿותֿ | פּתּח צװאָ יודֿותֿ | כּף |
ˈhaɾt̪ʰə juɣ | juɣ | ˈmaʰpəʰk juɣ | s̪waː ˈjuɣəs̪ | ˈpʰaʰt̪əx s̪waː ˈjuɣəs̪ | kʰaf |
/j/ | /i/ /ɪ/ | /iː/ | /ɛ/ | /eː/ | /kʰ/ |
כֿ | ך | ל | לּ | מ | ם |
xaf | לאַנגע כֿף | למדֿ | האַרטע למדֿ | מם | יעלאֹכֿן מם |
xaf | ˈlaŋkə xaf | ˈlamu | ˈhaɾt̪ʰə ˈlamu | meim | jəˈlɔxn̩ meim |
/x/ | /x/ | /l/ /l̪/ | /l̪/ | /m/ | /m/ |
נ | ן | נּ | ןּ | ס | ע |
נון | לאַנגע נון | האַרטע נון | האַרטע לאַנגע נון | סמך | שטילע עין |
nun | ˈlaŋkə nun | ˈhaɾt̪ʰə nun | ˈhaɾt̪ʰə ˈlaŋkə nun | ˈs̪aməx | ˈʃt̪ʰiləɾ ain |
/n/ | /n/ | /n̪ˠ/ | /n̪ˠ/ | /s̪/ | /∅/ |
ע | עו | עי | פּ | פֿ | ף |
עין | עין ואו | עין יודֿ | פּא | פֿא | לאַנגע פֿא |
ain | ain wɔː | ain juɣ | pʰeː | feː | ˈlaŋkə feː |
/e/ /ə/ | /ia/ | /ɛː/ | /pʰ/ | /f/ | /f/ |
צ | ץ | ק | ר | רּ | ש |
צדי | לאַנגע צדי | קוף | ריש | האַרטע ריש | שין |
ˈs̪at̪ə | ˈlaŋkə ˈs̪at̪ə | kʰuf | ɾeːʃ | ˈhaɾt̪ʰə ɾeːʃ | ʃin |
/s̪/ | /s̪/ | /kʰ/ | /ɾ/ | /rˠ/ | /ʃ/ |
שׂ | תּ | תֿ | |||
שׂין | תּו | תֿו | |||
s̪in | t̪ʰɔː | s̪ɔː | |||
/s̪/ | /t̪ʰ/ | /s̪/ |
Note: the letters in cyan are the vowel sounds, the blue are only found in Hebrew loanwords and the red are the final forms of the green letters.
Some orthographic notes are the fact that the unpointed א is used before the vowels י,יּ, ײ, ײַ, ו, וֹ and וּ in native words, but other than that it is largely found in Hebrew loanwords. As mentioned above, certain letters are final letters, an orphographic practice from Hebrew, meaning that the letters in green change form into the letters in red at the end of the word.
gender and number
Most dialects of Iùdhais preserve the three gender system of Ænglisc, with nouns either being masculine, feminine or neuter. However, in some dialects, such as those in Inbhir Nis, Asainn and Steòrnabhagh, the neuter gender merges with the masculine.
The gender of a noun is important in determining its inflectional paradigm and pluralisation. Adjectives, determiners, articles and pronouns all agree in gender with nouns. Thus for example:
ער מאַןּ - /eɾ maun̪ˠ/ - the man
עו פֿרוֹ - /ja fɾoː/ - the woman
אַס קילד - /as̪ kʰil̪t̪/ - the child
Nouns borrowed from Hebrew and Aramaic, which are languages with only a masculine and feminine gender, largely follow the gender that they had in their language of origin. Because of the nature of the grammars of these languages, gender assignment of these nouns is largely predictable. Feminine nouns of hebrew origin mostly ending in ה- or ותֿ-, and masculine nouns largely end in a consonant, although there are many exceptions to this. However, there are a few nouns of Hebrew origin that take the neuter gender, such as נחתֿ - /ˈnaxəs̪/ -joy, מוֹח - /ˈmoːx/ - brain, and מזוּמן - /məˈzuːmən/ - cash are neuter, largely due to their corresponding native words being neuter.
There are three grammatical numbers in Iùdhais, although the dual number is only used after the numeral צװעין (two) in its inflected form, and is always identical to the dative singular. Thus, its status as a distinct grammatical number is highly debatable.
The dual surfaces as follows:
צװעין װאוירמע - /s̪wɛːn ˈwɯɾɯmə/ - two worms
צװאָ פֿלאַשע - /s̪waː ˈflaʃə/ - two bottles
צוֹא באָנע - /s̪ɔ: ˈpaːnə/ - two bones
Whilst with the numeral דרײ (three), the full plural forms are used:
דרײַ װאוירמס - /t̪ɾeː ˈwɯɾɯms/ - three worms
דרעו פֿלעשער - /t̪ɾia ˈfleʃəɾ/ - three bottles
דרעו בײנער - /t̪ɾia ˈpɛnəɾ/ - three bones
There are a number of different plural endings, and the precise plural ending used depends on the noun class. Native masculine nouns take either ן- or ס- in the nominative/accusative plural. Feminine nouns take ן- or ער-. Neuter nouns take ער ,-ע- or ן-. Nouns of Hebrew origin take the hebrew endings, ותֿ- or ים-. The exact nominal paradigms will be discussed further below.
Nouns and pronouns in Gaelic have four cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, and dative case. Nouns can be classified into a number of major declension classes, with a small number of nouns falling into minor patterns or irregular paradigms. Case forms are shown by suffixation to the noun.
nominative
The nominative case marks the subject of a verb. When the verb is active, the nominative is the person or thing doing the action (agent); when the verb is passive, the nominative is the person or thing receiving the action. In a copulative sentence, the nominative is used on both sides of the copula. For example:
- מײַ הוןּ פּלעידֿ עסן האַנּען- /meː huːn̪ˠ ˈpʰlɛːɣ es̪n̩ ˈhan̪ˠən/ - my dog eats chicken
- אַ זקנותֿ שװעבֿעדֿ - /aː ˈzkʰeːnəs̪ ˈʃwevu/ - the old women are sleeping
- היּ איז יעסקילד - /hiː iz jes̪ kʰil̪t̪/ - he is just a child
accusative
The accusative case marks the direct object of a transitive verb. It is also used alongside a few other prepositions, as well as in expressions related to time. For example: אינטן דעס הײטנס, קױם איך אֹם סקוֹלע - ɪntn̩ /dəs heːtn̩s, koum ɪx om skɔːlə/ - This afternoon, I arrived at school.
- נע װאוירם זעו איך - /ne wɯɾɯm zia ix/ - I see the worm
- פֿרוֹן קנאֹע איך פֿאֹרן - /fɾoːn krɯː ix fɔːɾn̩/ - I know a woman for that
- מײַ הוןּ פּלעידֿ עסן האַנּען - /meː huːn̪ˠ ˈpʰlɛːɣ es̪n̩ ˈhan̪ˠən/ - my dog eats chicken
genitive
The genitive case represents a relation between two nouns, normally some sort of possession. It can also be used with a number of prepositions. It can also be used partitively, as in זום אָרע פֿישע – some of the fish. Some examples of the genitive include:
- מײַסט מאַנּע רּאַדֿ װאֹלטן פֿול װֿיסקיעבֿאָן דאֹן פּעליערע װעסן - /ˈmeːs̪t ˈman̪ˠə ˈrˠɤː ˈwɔl̪t̪ʰn̩ ˈful ˈʍis̪kʰiəvaːn ˈt̪ɔn ˈpʰeliəɾə ˈwes̪n̩/ - most men would rather be full of whiskey than bullets
- יצחק'ס מאָהיר ליבֿט אים אינבֿערנישע - ˈjis̪xaʰks̪ ˈmaːhɪɾ ˈlivt ˈim ˈinivəɾnɪʃə - Isaac's mother lives in Invernes
- פֿיונּע און אֹדֿרע מחלותֿ אַס אײַגנס - ˈfiun̪ˠə ˈun ˈoːɾə ˈmaxaləs̪ ˈas̪ ˈeːkn̩s̪ - cataracts, and other diseases of the eye
dative
The dative case has a number of roles, covering both the indirect object, and for many prepositions, especially in the plural. It can also be used for the purpose, benefit, or manner of an action, or to denote possession. Some examples of the Dative include:
- אֹורע װײרּט האַדֿ אוֹסטרינקן אַן מײרעם ראֹעטעם - ˈɔuɾə ˈwaːrˠt ˈhɤː oːs̪ˈt̪ʰɾiŋkʰn̩ ˈan ˈmɛɾəm ˈɾɯːʰt̪əm - our world has drowned in seas of red
- גיבֿ אַם קינדע עו בוּך - ˈkiv ˈaum ˈkʰin̪t̪ə ˈja ˈpuːx - give the book to the child
- בֿיּ פֿאֹר מײַ בריּדער - ˈviː ˈfɔɾ ˈmeː ˈpɾiːt̪əɾ - It's for my brother
The nouns are usually refered to by their genitive and plural endings, although some grammaticians refer to the n-n nouns as weak nouns and the rest as strong nouns.
s-s nouns
The nouns of this type make up all native masculine nouns not ending in ע-, thus a large percentage of masculine nouns, unless they are borrowed from Hebrew. A lot of borrowed masculine nouns from Gaelic join this noun class.
SG | PL | |
---|---|---|
NOM | הוןּ | הונּס |
ACC | ||
GEN | הונּס | הונּע |
DAT | הונּע | הונּעם |
SG | PL | |
---|---|---|
NOM | huːn̪ˠ | huːn̪ˠs̪ |
ACC | ||
GEN | huːn̪ˠs̪ | hun̪ˠə |
DAT | hun̪ˠə | hun̪ˠəm |
e-er nouns
The nouns of this class make up the majority of feminine nouns. It makes up all feminine nouns ending in a consonant, although some nouns of this class end in ע-. Five masculine nouns, זונע (son) and האַנט (hand), מאַגע (boy), װידע (wood) and עפּל (apple) also belong to this class, but they are the only ones.
ע- | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | מיכֿט | מיכֿטער | אוילטע | אוילטן |
ACC | מיכֿטע | |||
GEN | מיכֿטרע | אוילטענע | ||
DAT | מיכֿטרעם | אוילטעם |
-ə | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | mixt | ˈmixt̪ʰə | ˈɯl̪t̪ʰə | ˈɯl̪t̪ʰn̩ |
ACC | ˈmixt̪ʰə | |||
GEN | ˈmixt̪ɾə | ˈɯl̪t̪ʰənə | ||
DAT | ˈmixt̪əm | ˈɯl̪t̪ʰəm |
s-e(r) nouns
Almost all neuter nouns belong to this class. They either take ע- or ער- in the plural. However, in dialects where there is no neuter gender, nouns of this class join the s-s declension.
ע- | ער- | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | שיפּ | שיפּע | קלאָד | קלאָדער |
ACC | ||||
GEN | שיפּס | קלאָדס | קלאָדער | |
DAT | שיפּע | שיפּעם | קלאָדע | קלאָדעםר |
-ə | -əɾ | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | ʃiʰp | ˈʃiʰpə | ˈkʰla:t̪ | ˈkʰla:t̪əɾ |
ACC | ||||
GEN | ʃiʰps̪ | ˈkʰla:t̪s̪ | ˈkʰla:t̪ɾə | |
DAT | ˈʃiʰpə | ˈʃiʰpəm | ˈkʰla:t̪ə | ˈkʰla:t̪ɾəm |
n(s)-n nouns
There are n-stem nouns in all 3 genders, although almost all of them are masculine or feminine, with only a few neuter n-stems. They usually end in ע-.
masculine | feminine | neuter | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | שטערּע | שטערּן | אײַגע | אײַגן | סײַלע | סײַלן |
ACC | שטערּן | סײַלן | ||||
GEN | שטערּנס | שטערּענע | אײַגנס | אײַגענע | סײַלענע | |
DAT | שטערּן | שטערּעם | אײַגן | אײַגעם | סײַלעם |
masculine | feminine | neuter | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | ˈʃt̪ʰɤrˠə | ˈʃt̪ʰɤrˠn̩ | ˈeːkə | ˈeːkn̩ | ˈs̪eːlə | ˈs̪eːln̩ |
ACC | ˈʃt̪ʰɤrˠn̩ | ˈs̪eːln̩ | ||||
GEN | ˈʃt̪ʰɤrˠn̩s̪ | ˈʃt̪ʰɤrˠənə | ˈeːkn̩s̪ | ˈeːkənə | ˈs̪eːlənə | |
DAT | ˈʃt̪ʰɤrˠn̩ | ˈʃt̪ʰɤrˠəm | ˈeːkn̩ | ˈeːkəm | ˈs̪eːləm |
stem-changing nouns
A small subclass of both native and borrowed nouns work slightly differently, and form the genitive/dative singular and plural through changes in the stem vowel. Their declension is slightly different in the masculine and feminine.
masculine | feminine | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | מוֹאז | מײַז | גוּז | גיּז |
ACC | ||||
GEN | מוֹאזעס | מוֹאזע | גיּז | גוּזע |
DAT | מײַז | מוֹאזעם | גוּזעם |
masculine | feminine | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | mɔːz | meːz | kuːz | kiːz |
ACC | ||||
GEN | ˈmɔːzəs̪ | ˈmɔːzə | kiːz | ˈkuːzə |
DAT | meːz | ˈmɔːzəm | ˈguːzəm |
s-im/s-os nouns
Nouns of this class are usually borrowed from Hebrew. They work slightly differently to native nouns, since the stress patterns change in the dative and plural quite often. Most masculine and neuter nouns take a plural ending in ים-, but some, especially nouns ending in -on, take the plural -os, like feminine nouns borrowed from Hebrew.
ים- | ותֿ- | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | חלק | חלקים | רצון | רצוֹנותֿ |
ACC | ||||
GEN | חלק'ס | חלקי | רצונ'ס | רצוֹנו |
DAT | חלק'ע | חלקים | רצוֹנ'ע | רצוֹנום |
-əm | -əs̪ | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | ˈxeːləʰk | xaˈlaːʰkəm | ˈɾaːs̪ən | ɾəˈs̪oːnəs̪ |
ACC | ||||
GEN | ˈxeːləʰks̪ | xaˈlaːʰkə | ˈɾaːs̪ən̪s̪ | ɾəˈs̪o:nə |
DAT | xelkʰə | xaˈlaːʰkəm | ɾəˈs̪oːnə | ɾəˈs̪oːnəm |
e-os/s-os nouns
Feminine nouns borrowed from Hebrew are slightly more complicated. There are three groupings of feminine nouns: those that end in a consonant, those that end in ותֿ- and those that end in ה-. The declensions of the nouns differ slightly.
ה- | ותֿ- | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | רוּח | רוּחותֿ | עבֿוֹדֿה | עבֿוֹדֿותֿ | מלכֿותֿ | מלכֿויותֿ |
ACC | רוּח'ע | |||||
GEN | רוּחו | עבֿוֹדֿתֿ | עבֿוֹדֿו | מלכֿויו | ||
DAT | רוּחום | עבֿוֹדֿה | עבֿוֹדֿום | מלכֿויום |
-ə | -əs̪ | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | |
NOM | ˈɾuːx | ˈɾuːxəs̪ | aˈvoːɣə | aˈvoːɣəs̪ | ˈˈmalaxəs̪ | malaˈxuːjəs̪ |
ACC | ˈɾuːxə | |||||
GEN | ˈɾuːxə | aˈvoːɣəs̪ | aˈvoːɣə | malaˈxuːjə | ||
DAT | ˈɾuːxəm | aˈvoːɣə | aˈvoːɣəm | malaˈxuːjəm |
Adjectives are a largely regular class, with very little variability besides some stem changes in the superlative. There are a few different adjectival suffixes: איש, -פֿול, -איש, -ענט, -י-, and על-. Adjectives decline for case and gender, and there is only one regular declension used for all adjectives.
The adjectives are declined into two different declensions, definite and indefinite. The definite adjectives are used in all definite adjectival situations, which include nouns both following definite articles, proper names, vocative statements, comparative adjectives, possessive pronouns and determiners.
indefinite declension
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | הײַכֿער | הײַכֿס | הײַכֿע | |
ACC | הײַכֿן | |||
GEN | הײַכֿס | הײַכֿער | הײַכֿער | |
DAT | הײַכֿעם | הײַכֿעם |
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | ˈheːxəɾ | ˈheːxs̪ | ˈheːxə | |
ACC | ˈheːxn̩ | |||
GEN | ˈheːxs̪ | ˈheːxəɾ | ˈheːxəɾ | |
DAT | ˈheːxəm | ˈheːxəm |
definite declension
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | הײַכֿע | הײַכֿע | הײַכֿע | הײַכֿן |
ACC | הײַכֿן | הײַכֿן | ||
GEN | הײַכֿנס | הײַכֿענע | ||
DAT | הײַכֿן | הײַכֿעם |
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | ˈheːxə | ˈheːxə | ˈheːxə | ˈheːxn̩ |
ACC | ˈheːxn̩ | ˈheːxn̩ | ||
GEN | ˈheːxn̩s̪ | ˈheːxənə | ||
DAT | ˈheːxn̩ | ˈheːxəm |
comparatives and superlatives
Comparatives and superlative adjectives are sometimes irregular in stem vowel alterations. Some of the following demonstrate this:
verb | meaning | comparative | superlative |
---|---|---|---|
הײַך | high | העיכֿער | העכֿסט |
שװעך | weak | שװיכֿער | שװעכֿסט |
לאַנג | long | לענגער | לענגסט |
יונג | young | יענגער | יענגסט |
אײלט | old | אוילטער | אוילטסט |
סטראַנג | strong | סטרענגער | סטרענגסט |
שאֹרט | short | שירטער | שירטסט |
פֿעיער | beautiful | פֿיּרער | פֿיערסט |
And yet other verbst have suppletive forms, whereby the entire stem changes in the comparative and superlative:
verb | meaning | comparative | superlative |
---|---|---|---|
גוּט | good | בעצער | בעסט |
איּבֿל | bad | װאוירסע | װאוירסט |
מיקל | big | מאָרע | מעיסט |
ליּטל | little | לעסע | ליּסט |
סמאַל | small | מיניער | מיניעסט |
פֿערּ | far | פֿורדער | פֿורסט |
Comparative adjectives are always declined definitely, and for the most part are formed by adding ער- to the stem. Comparitives that end in ע-, like מאָרע or לעסע are itentical to general definite adjectives. But the general regular declension is as follows:
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | װײַטער | װײַטער | װײַטער | װײַטערן |
ACC | װײַטערן | װײַטערן | ||
GEN | װײַטערנס | װײַטערנע | ||
DAT | װײַטערן | װײַטערם |
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | ˈweːʰt̪əɾ | ˈweːʰt̪əɾ | ˈweːʰt̪əɾ | ˈweːʰt̪əɾn̩ |
ACC | ˈweːʰt̪əɾn̩ | ˈweːʰt̪əɾn̩ | ||
GEN | ˈweːʰt̪əɾn̩s | ˈweːʰt̪əɾnə | ||
DAT | ˈweːʰt̪əɾn̩ | ˈweːʰt̪əɾəm |
Superlative adjectives are declined identically to average definite and indefinite adjectives, just with the ending סט- at the end of the adjectival stem, thus the chart won't be repeated here.
personal pronouns
Iùdhais has three numbers in the personal pronouns, with dual first and second person pronouns. However, these dual pronouns are optional, and frequently replaced with the plural in many dialects. Furthermore, there is a T-V distinction in the second person, with the plural second person pronoun also used as a polite form. Pronouns are declined by case additionally, with gender distinctions in the third person singular pronouns
first person | second person | third person | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | DU | PL | SG | DU | PL | M | N | F | PL | |
NOM | איך | װיץ | װיּ | דו | עץ | יע | היּ | העס | העו | העי |
ACC | מיך | אונק | אוס | דיך | ענק | יוּ | הין | |||
DAT | מיּ | דיּ | הים | היר | העם | |||||
GEN | מײַן | אונקער | אֹור | דײַן | ענקער | יעװער | היז | הער |
first person | second person | third person | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | DU | PL | SG | DU | PL | M | N | F | PL | |
NOM | ix | wis̪ | wiː | t̪u | es̪ | je | hiː | hes̪ | hia | hɛː |
ACC | mix | uŋ | us̪ | t̪ix | eŋ | juː | hin | |||
DAT | miː | t̪iː | him | hiɾ | heim | |||||
GEN | meːn | ˈuŋkʰəɾ | ɔuɾ | t̪eːn | ˈeŋkʰəɾ | ˈjawəɾ | hiz | heɾ |
interrogative pronouns
There are also two interrogative pronouns. They are not usually used as relative clause markers, and the strategies by which relative clauses work will be discussed later. The interrogative pronouns are governed by natural genders rather than grammatical genders:
who | what | |
---|---|---|
NOM | װֿאָ | װֿאֹס |
ACC | װֿאֹן | |
GEN | װֿעס | |
DAT | װֿעם |
Iùdhais has no indefinite articles, and it hasn't developed one unlike most germanic languges probably under the influence of Gaelic. The definite articles decline for case and gender, like most other parts of speech.
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | ער | אַס | עו | אָ |
ACC | ען | |||
GEN | אַס | ער | אָרע | |
DAT | אַם | אָם |
The determiner שער is declined in the exact same way. There are two other determiners, יענער, a mediodistal, and שוּדער, a distal. They are declined as follows:
M | N | F | PL | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NOM | יענער | יענס | יענע | |
ACC | יענען | |||
GEN | יענס | יענער | יענער | |
DAT | יענעם | יענעם |
possessive determiners
Probably influenced by gaelic, possessive determiners in Iùdhais are only used when refering to innalienable possession. They are as follows
מײַ(ן) - meː(n) - my
אונקע(ר) - ˈuŋkʰə(ɾ) - your (DU)
אֹו(ר) - ɔu(ɾ) - our
דײַ(ן) - t̪eː(n) - your
ענקע(ר) - ˈeŋkʰə(ɾ) - your (DU)
יעװע(ר) - ˈjawə(ɾ) - your (PL)
היז - hiz - his
הי(ר) - hi(ɾ) - her
הע(ר) - he(ɾ) - their
Note, the forms in brackets are used before a word starting with a vowel. They are not inflected for case or gender. Their usage as stated is for innalienable possession. Thus, for example, you can say:
מײַן אַהיר - my father
מײַ מוֹח - my brain
מײַן אײרמעם - with my arms
However, in order to express non-permanent possession, the declined postposition אַט is used. Thus for example:
עו בוּך עושע - her book
ער הוןּ אַדֿעם - my dog
אָ לעמער אַשע - their lambs
For a list of situations when possession is considered innalienable:
category | noun | translation |
---|---|---|
blood relatives | אַהיר/פֿאֹטער | father |
מאָהיר/מוּטער | mother | |
ברוּדער | brother | |
שװעוסטער | sister | |
שײניר | grandfather | |
שײנורין | grandmother | |
פֿאַטער | paternal uncle | |
עום | maternal uncle | |
פֿאַדע | paternal aunt | |
מוּשע | maternal aunt | |
װײַבֿ | wife | |
נעפֿע | nephew, grandson | |
ניפֿט | niece, granddaughter | |
שװײרּ | cousin | |
שװיּרּע | cousin | |
זונע | son | |
טאֹכֿטער | daughter | |
friends and partners | פֿרײנד | friend |
קרובֿ | relative | |
חבֿר'ל | boyfriend | |
לוֹבֿענד | lover | |
bodyparts | הײבֿד | head |
פֿוּס | foot | |
אײרם | arm | |
שאַנקע | leg | |
אײַגע | eye | |
אײַרע | ear | |
מוֹאדֿ | mouth | |
נוֹזע | nose | |
פֿינגער | finger | |
האַנט | hand | |
traits | דעה | opinion |
הונגער | hunger | |
כּבֿודֿ | honour | |
שם | reputation | |
pets | הוןּ | dog |
קאַץ | cat | |
פֿיש | fish | |
פֿויגֿל | bird | |
הערץ | deer | |
clothes | קלאָדֿער | clothes |
שוכֿן | shoes | |
בריּגיש | trowsers | |
שײפּאַן | yarmulke | |
nobles | גאֹט | God |
קײנינג | King | |
שׂררה | Lord | |
home | הוֹאז | house |
משפּחה | family | |
האָם | home | |
דיּרה | flat | |
abstract traits | לאַנד | country |
לשון | language | |
יחוס | ancestry | |
יעסטעיר | history | |
קילדהאָד | childhood | |
מוֹתֿ | death | |
לײַף | life | |
נײמע | name | |
נשמה | soul | |
מוינד | mind |
Furthermore, not using the pronominal determinitive when it comes to friends suggests a certain degree of social distance from a person. So:
מײַ פֿרײנד- my friend (very close)
ער פֿרײנד אַדֿעם - my friend (not so close)
The way that numerals and the nouns that they modify work in Iùdhais is slightly more complicated than in English. Firstly, the basic numbers are as follows:
0 | נול | 10 | צעין | 20 | צװענציגֿ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | אַןּ | 11 | עלײף | 30 | דרײַציגֿ |
2 | צאֹו | 12 | צװעלף | 40 | פֿירציגֿ |
3 | דרעו | 13 | דרעוצעין | 50 | פֿיפֿציגֿ |
4 | פֿעור | 14 | פֿוֹרצעין | 60 | זעכֿציגֿ |
5 | פֿײַבֿ | 15 | פֿיפֿצעין | 70 | זײבֿציגֿ |
6 | זעקס | 16 | זעכֿצעין | 80 | אײכֿציגֿ |
7 | זײבֿן | 17 | זײבֿצעין | 90 | ניגֿציגֿ |
8 | אײכֿט | 18 | אײכֿצעין | 100 | הונּערט |
9 | ניגֿן | 19 | ניגֿצעין | 1000 | טוֹאזענט |
Numbers 1-3 are declinable:
one
אַןּ is declined as a regular indefinite adjective when it modifies a noun. It can also be declined weakly, which gives the meaning of "only", but that is unusual.
M | N | F | |
---|---|---|---|
NOM | אַנּער | אַנּס | אַנּע |
ACC | אַנּען | ||
GEN | אַנּס | אַנּער | |
DAT | אַנּעם |
two
צױ is entirely irregular, with diffferent forms in the Masculine, Feminine and Neuter, although the dative and genitive are identical throughout the genders. The declension is as follows:
M | N | F | |
---|---|---|---|
NOM | צװעין | צאֹו | צװאָ |
ACC | |||
GEN | צװײר | ||
DAT | צװאָם |
three
The declension of דרײ is slightly more predictable, although still slightly irregular. There is a different form used with the masculine to the feminine, although like the צױ the dative and genitive are identical throughout the genders. The declension is as follows:
M | N | F | |
---|---|---|---|
NOM | דרײַ | דרעו | |
ACC | |||
GEN | דרעור | ||
DAT | דרים |
As mentioned previously, nouns following צױ are in the dative, whilst after דרײ-ניגצן, the normal inflected plural of a noun is used. However, numbers twenty and upwards have the noun they modify in the genitive plural case:
אָנּער פֿויגֿל - ˈan̪əɾ ˈfɯiɣl̩ - one bird
צװעין פֿויגֿלע - s̪wɛːn ˈfɯiɣlə - two birds
דרײַ פֿײגֿלס - t̪ɾeː fɤːls̪ - three birds
צװענציגֿ פֿײגֿלע - ˈs̪wen̪s̪ɤɪ ˈfɤːlə - twenty birds
numbers above one hundred
For one hundred, the word הונדערט is used, but a prefixed form -הונד is used for larger numbers:
- הונּצעין - ˈhuːn̪s̪ɛːn - 110
- הונּצװענציגֿ - huːn̪ˠˈs̪wens̪ɤɪ - 120
- צװאָהונּפֿיפֿציגֿ - s̪waːhuːn̪ˠˈfifs̪ɤɪ - 250
- דרעוהונּניגֿציגֿ - t̪ɾiahuːn̪ˠˈn̪ˠɤis̪ɤɪ - 390
- זעכֿהונּזײבֿציגֿ - zɤxuːn̪ˠˈzɛus̪ɤɪ - 670
how to write numbers
The prefixed numbers are also used above 1000. The ordering of numbers is usually [small number] און [large number]. For example, fifty three is דרײַ און פֿיפֿציגֿ - t̪ɾeː un ˈfifs̪ɤɪ. Once above a thousand, the thousand is written first, then the small number and then the tens. This can be used to write any number:
- דרעוטוֹאזענט ניגֿן און פֿיפֿהונּצװענציגֿ - t̪ɾiaˈt̪ʰɔːzənt̪ n̪ˠɤin un fifhuːn̪ˠˈs̪wens̪ɤɪ - 3529
- פֿײַבֿ און פֿוֹרציגֿטוֹאזענט זײבֿן און צװאָהונּניגציג - feːv un fo:ɾs̪ɤɪˈt̪ʰɔːzənt̪ zɛun̩ un s̪waːhuːn̪ˈn̪ˠɤis̪ɤɪ - 45297
- ניגֿן און צװאָהונּזײבֿציגֿטוֹאזענט פֿעור און אײכֿטהונּדרײַציג - n̪ˠɤin un s̪waːhuːn̪ˠzɛus̪ɤɪˈt̪ʰɔːzənt̪ fiaɾ un jaxt̪ʰuːn̪ˠˈt̪ɾe:s̪ɤɪ - 279834
Prepositions in Iùdhais govern either the accusative, dative, or genitive case. The dative is the most commonly used case, but several prepositions may also be used with both the dative and the accusative with the dative governing motion. The prepositions listed below are declinable for person and number:
me | you | him | it | her | us | you(pl) | them | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
at | אַץ | אַדֿעם | אַדֿעט | איש | עושע | אַש | אַדֿיבֿ | אַשע | |
on, in | אַן | אַנּעם | אַנּעט | איןּ | אינּטע | אַנּיש | אַנּיבֿ | אַנּטע | |
with | מיט | מיטן | מיסט | מעי | מײן | מײסע | מיש | מײבֿ | מיצע |
to | צוּ | צאֹם | צוט | שיע | שים | שיּ | צוּס | צאֹבֿ | צוּבֿ |
for | פֿאַר | פֿאֹרן | פֿאֹרט | פֿעיר | פֿײרט | פֿירע | פֿירס | פֿירבֿ | פֿאֹרע |
by | בײַ | באָם | באָט | ביע | בירע | ביּס | ביּבֿ | באָבֿ | |
from | אֹ | אועם | אועט | אויגֿע | אוֹיט | אוֹיפֿע | אוש | אויבֿ | אועף |
under | פֿראֹם | פֿרוֹאן | פֿרוֹאט | פֿראֹעם | פֿרויר | פֿרויש | פֿרויבֿ | פֿרוֹאבֿ | |
through | דראֹ | דראֹכֿעם | דראֹכֿעט | דרויכֿע | דוירך | דרויכֿטע | דאֹרש | דרויבֿ | דראֹבֿ |
dative prepositions
The dative is commonly used with prepositions, especially locative ones. The prepositions listed below are all usually governed by the dative:
- אַץ - at
- מיט - with
- צוּ - to
- פֿאַר - for
- בײַ - by
- אֹ - from
- עיען - against
- צוּיען - towards
- באַצװיס - among
- װיד - against, opposite
accusative/dative prepositions
There are a few locative prepositions for which the dative imparts a locative meaning (for example, on), whilst the accusative a sense of movement (onto). These are the following:
- אַן - on(to)
- פֿראֹם - under
- אוֹיף - above
- אונּער - under
- אוֹבֿער - over
accusative prepositions
- באַצװיס - between
- עפֿטער - after
- פֿאֹןּ - before
- אֹד - until
- װבוֹאס - without
- דראֹ - through
- אַז - as
genitive prepositions
- כֿאֹם - for, because of
- אוֹס - out of, without
- טאַרסן - across
- יענט - during
- לאַנגס - along
The Iùdhais language is spoken by around 150,000 people in the Kingdom of Alba. It developed out of the Ænglisc language, although with significant vocabulary borrowing from Hebrew, Aramaic and Gaelic, as well as some norse borrowings.✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
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